Kare of Narnia
by Merlin's Beaded Beard
Summary: I'd been away in Narnia for so long, my behavior had become like the culture around me and in that culture, your honor is tested, you have to get it back.It was never my intention to get in a fight. It just happened.


**Note from Bead (aka Merlin's Beaded Beard): **_This story was written by a friend of mine. I have quite enjoyed it and got her permission to share it with the rest of you. She has also expressed interest in working with a beta, if any of you are willing. Read and enjoy!_

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A dutiful fanfiction by Kaydrien Will Wright. Just paying my respects to an amazing work of art. :D

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the story-line of Prince Caspian. A pity, really. (If I had, I would have put these chapters into it.) I also do not own the characters I so lovingly adore, (namely Peter) nor do I stake any claim to the right to distribute this, which I have no intention of doing in the first place. (except for maybe to a few friends and family ...)

So, all you privileged peoples whom have been so kind as to take my offer with a grain of salt and read these pages of drama ... ENJOY!

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**Attention Readers!** I am currently looking for a full-time and/or part-time beta. The full-time beta would be responsible for editing any and all stories I write (Editing of my original fiction stories would be a plus, but is not required.) The part-time beta would be responsible for only this one story. Check Bead's profile for more details or PM her to apply(BTW She's also looking for betas). Thanks!

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Part One: Chapter One

Unexpected Arrival

It was never my intention to get in a fight. It just happened. No one had spoken to me like that in years.

Years.

I'd been away in Narnia for so long, my behavior had become like the culture around me and in that culture, your honor is tested, you have to get it back. Usually in a very physical way. Barbaric to British, normalcy to Narnians.

So, when that idiot of a boy tried to force an apology from my unyielding lips, I let in to instinct and hit him, square in the jaw. Perfect strike, if I do say so myself. He sat there for a moment, his eyes wide, as if his nanny's underwear had just bloomed him in the face, and the he was off, his two stupid little weakling friends helping him along. As if he needed it. He was doing horribly enough without their help.

I nailed a knuckle-crunching blow in one of the two goon's stomach, sending him reeling. His friends charged on me furiously, slamming me against the wall. A hot flash of pain sliced up my left shoulder as it hit the bricks. I grabbed the nearest boy's shirt in my fist and shoved him back, but was unable to duck the blow his companion threw at me. Another splash of pain on my chest.

Suddenly, the shill, piercing shriek of a guard whistle sounded, catching the two boys' attention for the fraction of a second that I needed to have the last word. Or in this case, the last punch to the face. They howled, clutching their bleeding noses as I was dragged roughly away from them with a firm shake to my shoulder and a bellowing:

" Act your age!"

I am...

I shook my arm to dislodge the offensive fist and turned away, the hot anger, along with the aching pain, still burning in my chest.

" Peter!" I could hear my sisters calling me, but I ignored them.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Edmund being hauled to his feet in much the same manner as I had been. So he'd joined the fight too. Wonderful. Mum and I would have loads to talk about when we got home.

That was when I noticed the girl at the edge of the crowd. Her dark hair and deep almond eyes accentuated the tiny, amused smile that tugged at the edges of her lips.

I knew that smile inside and out. I had dreamed of it, hoped for it. It was the only one I had thought of for a whole twelve years and the person it belonged to was the only girl I would ever love. She noticed me as I looked her way and her slight grin broadened to a full fledged smile. Her feet moved towards me and quickened into a run and I held out my arms to catch her as she flew into me.

I held her tightly, feeling like she would disappear. " Kare!"

My initial anger forgotten, I whirled her in a circle, then set her on her feet, holding her arms to get a good look at her. Her lips still had the slightest tinge of gentle mocking I had found so unappealing the day I met her. Now it was just another characteristic of her beauty. She wasn't stunningly gorgeous, but no one could ever say she was plain or ugly and in my opinion, perfectly featured women were overrated. Far too willing to flaunt their obvious beauty.

Unlike Kare, who had no idea she was beautiful.

" Where've you been?" I asked, my voice showing my incredulity that she was here in the Finchly train station for goodness sakes.

" Where have YOU been, Peter Pevensie." She replied with the same.

" Looking for you. I've been all over England! I sent letters to the professor and your home and none of them have been replied! Why?"

She looked confused. " I thought I told you before we split that I was going to my aunt's for the summer."

" That was twelve years ago."

" Really? Has it been that long?" Her shock was genuine.

" Time works faster in Narnia I'd guess."

She looked me over. " Twelve years...Dont you look a bit young for twenty eight?"

" It went backwards when we fell through the wardrobe. Sadly, I'm still only seventeen."

She grinned. " I know. Teasing, you daft -"

Her sentence was cut off by a joyful Lucy, hurtling into her with full force. " Kare! Oh, how did you get here? We've missed you so much! Where have you been?"

Kare's face lit up. " Lu!"

The two hugged fiercely before Susan cut in with a grin. " Don't squeeze the life out of her, Lucy."

" Only half of it." Kare leaned to embrace the older girl, her waist still enclosed in Lucy's jubialent hug.

* * *

" You're welcome." Edmund snapped to Peter, as we joined him on the bench.

" I had it sorted." The fair-haired boy stood angrily and paced to the edge of the tracks.

I sat down on the hard boards that made up the bench and pretended to fiddle with my bracelet. I couldn't get involved in this.

" What happened?" Lucy inquired.

" He bumped me." Peter grimaced.

" So you hit him?"

"No." Peter's face was petulant. " After he bumped me, they tried to make me apologize. Thats when I hit him."

" Honestly." Susan sighed, exasperated. " Is it that hard just to walk away?"

" Don't you ever get tired of being treated like a kid?"

Edmund laughed sarcastically. " Um, we are kids."

His brother fixed him with frustrated a stare. " Well, I wasn't always."

" Its been a year." He started to pace the length of the tracks, hands on hips. "How long does he expect us to wait?"

" I just think we need to accept the fact that we live here." Susan said impatiently.

Her face paled as something caught her eye. " Oh, no."

She whipped around to face the rest of us. " pretend you're talking to me."

" We are talking to you." Edmund, yet again, was unfailing in his duty to state the obvious.

His sister shot him a glare.

" Ow!" Lucy leaped from her seat and whirled to point at it. " Something bit me!"

" There was nothing-" Edmund jerked to his feet, rubbing the back of his arm. " Ow!"

" Stop pulling!" Exclaimed Peter leaping up as well.

Suddenly, I felt it too. A slight, jabbing pain in between my shoulder blades. I hopped from the bench.

" Did you see that?"

They shook their heads.

Something caught my eye. A slight wavering at the end of the tunnel. Like a huge wind, blowing through the station. As it went, shingles and papers and all sorts of inanimate objects flew off the walls, swirling and blowing crazily.

Lucy saw it too. " This is magic! I know!"

Susan caught on at once. " Everybody hold hands!"

Lucy's tiny fingers slipped into mine and I grasped them tightly, while at the same time offering Peter my hand. He took it tightly and securely, his fingers a warm contrast to Lucy's small grasp. And there was nothing to do now but wait.

The station seemed to be falling apart. Tiles from the walls pulled off in sheets, leaving hard rock behind them. The tugging was growing stronger, more of a jerking now. It covered my body, bringing tiny pinpoints of pain with it. I hardly noticed what was happening to the station, mainly because I couldn't see it. My vision was blurring, turning a hazy white. I squeezed my eyes shut, disliking the sensation.

The sounds of the oncoming train seemed to be growing louder and louder as it came closer, drowning out all thought and perceptions of my surroundings. It pounded in my head, elevating to a shriek that made me sure my ears was about to burst.

And then it was gone, as suddenly as it had come. I shook my head slightly to rid it of the ringing and opened my eyes.

An involuntary grin crept its way onto my face.

We were definitely not in dull, nondescript England any longer. A slight tint of sunlight warmed my face from where it streamed through the entrance to a cave, the place we'd been dumped out of the magical stream. My smile still on my face, I led the way out of the cave and into the sunlight.

It was beautiful. Sparkling water stretched far out into the west and a cool, fresh forest covered the cliffs that lined the beaches. Lucy turned a delighted grin on Susan. Her sister echoed her enthusiasm and the two streaked off towards the water, kicking away their shoes and stockings.

" Come on!" I couldn't help but let slip a laugh as I tore after them.

" Last one in is the rotten egg!" Peter called.

At the edge of the water I tucked a finger into the lip of my loafers and flung them off, still laughing. My socks followed and were unceremoniously tossed into the sand as I straightened, ready to charge headlong into the water. Before I could take a step, Peter's arms wrapped around my waist, snatching me into the air and twirling me, feet flying, into the shallows.

I shrieked and kicked, barely able to breathe I was laughing so hard. " I'm getting soaked!"

" I know!" He sounded as if he was grinning. " So am I!"

" You're about to become drenched, Peter Pevensie!" I struggled to my feet and bent to splash him.

He ducked, laughing.

" Edmund?" Susan's voice was muted by the waves. " Ed?"

" Let's see what he's up to." Peter muttered, glancing at his preoccupied brother.

I nodded and took his hand. With a little effort, we made our way to the dark-haired boy. Edmund seemed intent on something across the ridge.

" What's wrong?" I asked curiously.

He didn't move his eyes. " Where do you suppose we are?"

Peter shrugged. " Well, where do you think?"

" I don't remember any ruins in Narnia."

Confused, I followed his gaze. Resting on the top of the cliff were the huge remains of some sort of city. It looked thousands of years old. I glanced at Peter.

He caught the look and smiled slightly. " Well, lets have a look then."

* * *

" Ouch." I lifted my now-aching foot and glared angrily down at the huge crumbling stone I had just stubbed my toe against.

The ruins were spectacular, aside from the throbbing toe. They sang of a once-beautiful palace, built majestically above the sea, soaring with beautiful spires and turrets, inlayed with gold at thousands of points. The balcony Lucy and I had just discovered hung firmly above the waves, providing a perfect view of the sea. Lucy, oblivious of the fact that I was still nursing my injured toe, stepped lightly to the edge and peered around happily.

" I wonder who lived here?"

Susan, hurrying to join us, paused and bent to pluck something from the grass beside her. A golden horse, chipped and worn, but still pretty, rested in the palm of her hand.

She held it out. " I think we did."

" Hey,' Edmund, followed closely by his elder brother, reached for the horse. " Thats mine. From my chess set."

" Which one?" Teased Peter.

Edmund rolled his eyes. " I didn't exactly have a solid gold chess set in Finchly, did I?"

Everyone stared at the piece curiously.

" I can't be." Lucy said suddenly.

She ducked past me and hurried towards a particularly large section of the rubble.

" Lucy!" Peter dashed after her.

Still running, she led us up to the center of the ruins, a huge, round slab of solid marble. Without hesitation, she bounded up the steps and stood, waiting in the center while we climbed after her.

" What is it, Lu?" Susan inquired, looking around.

The youngest Pevensie tugged on Peter's arm and placed him on the far left of the circle, facing the open sea. " Imagine walls."

She moved to Susan and placed her beside Edmund. " And columns there."

Her hands grasped my shoulders and gently pushed me into place between Peter and his brother before slipping into the space on the right side of the marble.

There was silence for half a second.

Then Susan said: " Its Cair Paravel."

I blanched. Cair Paravel? In ruins? How much time had passed since I had left Narnia? Barely a year had gone for me, but this looked like thousands of years were just a distant memory! I stared at the crumbling walls and rotting wood unable to deny the truth but unwilling to accept it. The beloved city. Reduced to rubble. I held back tears with barely concealed difficulty.

Peter was the first to recover. Without a word he stepped down from the platform of what was once the throne room and strode through the debris. His back was stiff and straight as he made his way towards the far wall. It looked to have been a storage room once, but the bulk of it was hidden in a mountain of vines and bushes.

The fair-haired boy ignored the clinging greenery and braced his palms against the edge of the stone, pushing until it gave way with a rumbling scrape. Edmund hurried to help him, nearly tripping on the fallen vines in his haste, and together they shoved back the wall. A door was set in the rock behind it, old and rotten. I stepped in for a closer look, absently aware of my still-throbbing toe.

There was nothing remarkable about the door, except for the gold lion-head embedded in the center. It shone in the sun, as perfect and unblemished as the day it had been made. I touched it gently. Where was Aslan now?

" Where does this lead?" I asked.

Peter reached around me and tugged at the handle. It came away in his hands, along with a large portion of the wood around it.

" The treasury."

I lent him a hand as he reached to break off the rest of the door. It swung inward with a drawn-out squeal, then fell off of its hinges and clattered to the platform beyond. Scowling, Peter snapped a branch from a nearby tree. Placing it in my hand, he reached down to his shirt and tore a strip of cloth from the hem. I held the stick in place while he wrapped it around the top in a crude imitation of a torch.

" I don't suppose..." Peter asked his brother, staring ruefully at his work. " You have any matches do you?"

" No," Ed dug in his bag and pulled out an electric torch. " But will this help?"

" You could have mentioned that a bit sooner!" Peter exclaimed.

Edmund grinned sheepishly.

" Well, go on then." Peter motioned him forward.

Still sheepish, he did as he was told and led the way down the steps, shining the torch downwards to light the hall beyond. I followed a few steps behind.

My first impression of the treasury was size. It was remarkably small for a castle's wealth hall and contained only four large chests and a few bits of armor here and there. Peter stepped past me and caught my hand.

Obligingly, I allowed myself to be led down the crumbling marble steps that descended to my right. At the thick iron gates, I stopped and leaned against the wall, watching curiously as the Pevensies slipped through the doorway and ran to what obviously were their own personal belongings from years ago. I grinned, amused, while Lucy held up a long blue dress to her shoulders.

" I was so tall."

" Well," Susan paused in her own salvaging to look her sister over. " You were older then."

" As apposed to hundreds of years later." Edmund chimed in, his face dwarfed by the massive helmet he wore. " When you're younger."

" Here," Peter motioned me towards him. " I saved something for you."

I let a delighted smile spread across my face. " My gifts from Father Christmas!"

My two identical sabers, short-cross, long length, sat neatly balanced in his palms. He handed them to me as I reached.

" I knew you'd come back. So I saved them for you."

" Thank you." I ran a thumb along the carvings on the sheaths. " I've missed them. A few people in England could have done with a good beheading."

He turned away, grinning, and began rummaging in the trunk once more. His smile faded as he slid the sword from its scabbard. It rang faintly, as if reminding him how long it had been. Without expression, he read the words engraved on the blade.

" When Aslan bears his teeth, winter meets its death."

Lucy's voice was sad as she completed the words. " And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again." Her forehead furrowed. " Don't you see? Everyone we knew, Mr. Tumnas and the beavers. They're all gone."

Peter looked around at the rest of us, his eyes determined. " I think its time we found out whats going on."

* * *

" You missed a tie in the back. Just here at the top. I'll fix it." Susan reached out and tugged on the stubborn leather, tightening it into place.

" Thanks." I studied my reflection in the cracked mirror Lucy had discovered before bed the previous night.

Susan had braided three tiny strands on one side of my head to keep it out of my face. They hung in front of my ear, tied tightly with the bright red ribbon I had worn on my wrist earlier. The dress I had borrowed was in actual fact one of Lucy's. It was died a deep royal blue and laced in the front with those infuriating cords. As a finishing touch, I strapped a braided leather belt across my left shoulder and chest, then slipped the two sabers into the cross holsters. Now, drawing them was as simple as raising my hands above my head.

" You forgot this." Two hands reached gently around my neck and slipped his silver necklace into place.

I turned and smiled at Peter. " I guess I did. Thanks."

" We need to get moving. I don't know how we're going to go about this, but staying here wont do any good." He nodded towards the far bank. " The water poses a problem. How opposed are you to swimming?"

I Shrugged and began to walk towards his siblings, who were bunched near the shore, talking in low voices. " I'm not. So long as I don't drown."

He grinned. " Then we walk."

I laughed in spite of myself. " I swim perfectly fine, thank you."

He opened his mouth to reply, but Edmund interrupted him. " Catapults."

"What?" Peter asked, caught of guard.

" This didn't just happen." The dark-haired youth gestured around him at the rubble. " Cair Paravel was attacked."

" Look!" Lucy pointed towards the water.

A dark boat, driven by two men, cut across the river, making for the shore.

" They've got a prisoner." Peter muttered.

" Not just any prisoner. Thats a dwarf." I snapped. " Susan. Your bow?"

She nodded, yanking it down from her shoulders and knocking an arrow. I ran to the top of the hill alongside her. In one fluid movement she drew the bow and released, sending the arrow spinning towards the boat. Before it even hit the craft she had another arrow on the string.

" Drop him!"

The soldiers, previously having lifted the dwarf to toss him overboard, obligingly let go. Straight into the river. With a hiss of frustration, Peter sheathed his sword and dove into the water after him. One of the men went down to Susan's arrow and the other followed close behind, choosing to jump into the lake than be felled by her deadly accuracy.

Edmund, seeing the empty boat, waded out to get it, not bothering to remove his boots. A moment later, Peter resurfaced, dragging a very wet dwarf behind him. I replaced my sabers carefully into their holsters, watching, slightly amused as the dwarf tried to look as dignified as possible while his bonds were cut. The moment his mouth was ungagged he spat out a mouthful of lake water and glared at Susan.

" Drop him! Is that the best you can come up with!"

Susan shot him an equally venomous glare, hurt by his lack of gratitude. " A simple 'thank you' would suffice."

He gestured angrily out towards the water. " They were doing fine drownin' me without your help."

" Maybe we should have let them." Peter snapped.

Lucy peered at the Narnian curiously. " Why were they trying to kill you anyway?"

" They're Telmarenes. Its what they do."

" Telmarenes? In Narnia?"

" Where have you been for the past few hundred years?"

I cut in, shrugging. " Its a bit of a long story."

For half a second he was silent, taking in the five of us.

Then he let his breath out in a huff. " Oh, you've got to be kidding me. You're it? You're the kings and queens of old?"

Peter extended his hand. " High king Peter. The Magnificent."

" You probably should have left that last bit off." Susan muttered.

The dwarf laughed, ignoring the extended hand. " Probably."

Peter was unfazed.

His hand pulled the huge sword from his waist easily. " You might be surprised."

The dwarf inclined his head in warning. " Oooh, you don't want to do that, boy."

" Not me." Peter's grin was barely hidden as he handed the sword to the Narnian and inclined his head in Edmund's direction. " Him."

Edmund grinned, drawing his own blade with the same fluid ease as his brother. I hid a smile. What this poor dwarf failed to realize was that the familiarity with which these two boys handled their weapons signaled an experienced fighter. He was about to get the surprise of the year.

With a grunt, the tiny Narnian swung Peter's sword in a clean cut to his considerably taller opponent's legs. The boy leaped over it with ease and delivered his own warning blow, slicing the air just inches from the dwarf's nose. The Narnian's fist crunched into Edmund's face and he recoiled, surprised.

" Edmund!" Lucy shouted, frightened.

" Oh, are you alright?" The dwarf mocked sarcastically.

In reply, Edmund's sword came up and he grinned mischievously at his opponent. In a blinding seres of strikes, the younger boy disarmed the Narnian, leaving him panting in the sand. He looked stunned.

" That..." His eyes blinking incredulously, he rose to his feet. " That was amazing! I've never seen anything like it!"

Edmund shrugged off the praise modestly, bending with his hand outstretched to assist the Narnian in his futile attempts to rise.

" What's your name?" I asked the dwarf curiously.

" Trumpkin. Trumpkin the dwarf, at your service majesty."

I smiled. " Just Kare."

" Right." Trumpkin nodded. " Kare."

" Now that we've got a boat, I think we should get moving." Peter slid his sword back into its scabbard and turned his gaze on Trumpkin. " And we need to know what's been happening in the time we were gone."

* * *

" They're so still." Lucy said sadly, her hands gripping tightly to the sides of the boat as she stared forlornly out at the greenery around us.

" They're trees." Trumpkin replied. " What'd you expect?"

" They used to dance." Lucy informed him, her eyes still sad.

Trumpkin's expression changed to pity and he corrected his former rudeness with an explanation. " When the Telmarenes came they destroyed everything. And the trees? they retreated deep into themselves and haven't been heard from since."

" I don't understand. How could Aslan have let this happen?"

" Aslan?" Trumpkin sounded scathing. " Thought he abandoned us when you lot did."

I was stung. Abandon! None of us left of our own accord! from the expressions reflected around me, I could tell the others felt the same. Only Peter voiced his objection.

" We didn't mean to leave, you know."

" Makes no difference now, does it?"

" Get us to the Narnians." Peter stabbed the water fiercely. " And it will.â€

* * *

The moment the boat scraped noisily against the shore, Peter leaped out, tossing the oars onto the sand at his feet. As the others disembarked, his hands caught my waist, swinging me up and out of the craft easily. I grabbed his shoulders as he set me down, scowling, but secretly pleased.

" I can get out of a boat on my own, you know."

He grinned without shame. " I know."

Lucy's voice interrupted my would-be sharp reply. " Hello there!"

Startled, I turned. The youngest Pevensie waved cheerfully at a black bear, fishing doggedly in the water. His head raised at her words, allowing his eyes to fix on her. My body went cold.

Those eyes were blank and dull, clouded over with a hunger that bordered on insane.

Trumpkin had seen it too. His face registered danger and he held out a warning hand.

" Don't move your majesty!"

Lucy froze. The bear, not deceived, lumbered towards her, his powerful legs gaining speed with each stride.

" Run, Lucy!" I shouted at her, drawing my sabers and streaking towards them.

" Kare, stop!" Susan shrieked. " You can't kill him!"

I ignored her, frightened for and protective of Lucy.

" Your majesties, take cover!" Trumpkin bellowed.

On instinct brought from many battles, the moment I reached Lucy, I obeyed, sheathing my blades and ducking, pulling the smaller girl into the shield of my body. She huddled there, clinging to my waist and squeezing her eyes shut. The bear roared, his knife-like claws raised to swipe across my side.

" Susan, shoot!" Edmund shouted.

Something whistled past me, passing so close to the back of my head that its velocity whipped a few strands of hair into my eyes. It struck the bear squarely in the chest with a solid thump. The massive beast groaned and fell sideways with almost comical stiffness. Running feet sounded a millisecond later and Peter's arms encircled both me and Lucy in a tight grip. The youngest Pevensie released her hold on my waist and reached to wrap her arms around her brother's neck, her eyes wide and glued to the still form at her feet.

I glanced up at Susan.

She looked stricken. " Why wouldn't he stop?"

Trumpkin, ever the gruff dwarf, poked at the fur on its massive shoulder. " I suspect he was hungry."

" I don't think he could talk at all." Peter sounded strangled.

" Get treated like a dumb animal long enough, thats what you become."

Trumpkin drew his knife and drove it into the beast's closed eye. If it hadn't been dead before, it most definitely was now.

Sickened, Edmund said, " I think we should keep going if we're going to find the Narnians before tomorrow."

* * *

"Are you sure you know where you're going?" Susan asked, her eyes scanning the path ahead.

Peter's reply was cheeky. " Thats the problem with girls. Can't keep a map in your heads."

" Thats because our heads have something in them." Lucy grinned.

Peter ignored the comment and strode ahead, his steps determined and unwavering.

" I wish he would just listen to the DLF in the first place." Lucy murmured in my ear.

"DLF?" Edmund asked curiously.

Lucy grinned. " Dear Little Friend."

Trumpkin stopped short, one eyebrow raised. " Well, thats not at all patronizing, is it?"

I attempted to hide my laugh by re-tying the cords on my boots and the dwarf jogged past me, pointedly ignoring my shaking shoulders.

" I'm not lost!" Peter exclaimed, stopping for the tenth time to check his surroundings.

" No." Trumpkin sighed, having finally caught up with the oldest Pevensie. " You're just going the wrong way."

The fair-haired teen rounded on him. " You said you last saw Caspian in the Shuddering Woods and the fastest way to get there is to cross the River Rush."

" But if I'm not mistaken there's no crossing in these parts." Trumpkin retorted.

" Thats it then." Peter's lips pressed together in annoyance. " You're mistaken."

He turned angrily and stalked underneath the stone overhang ahead, hardly pausing to see if anyone was following him.

" I think someone is a bit touchy about his map-head." Susan grumbled.

* * *

I couldn't help but groan quietly to myself. All day of trekking through underbrush and thorns and an un-crossable gorge with a fast-flowing river at the bottom was all we got for our efforts. My spirits were down to the tip of my toes. I was tired and hungry and ready to drop. We all were.

The ever-present cheekyness that seemed to overtake all Pevensies at any given time, appeared in Susan's comment.

" You see.â€ She began, as if talking to a little child. " Over time, water erodes the earth's soil, carving deeper-"

" Oh, shut up." Peter snapped.

He turned away from the steep drop, looking tired and defeated." Well, we weren't lost."

"Is there a way to get down?" Lucy asked Trumpkin hopefully.

" Yeah. Falling." The dwarf grunted.

There was a moment of dismayed quiet. No way down meant more walking. A lot more.

" There's a ford near Buruna." Trumpkin didn't mention the fact that he'd been right all along. " How do you feel about swimming?"

" I'd rather that than walking." Susan shot a glare at her brother before following the dwarf back into the trees.

" Come on." Peter took my hand. " The sooner we get across, the sooner we can stop for the night."

I opened my mouth to reply, but was cut short by Lucy's jubialent cry. " Aslan! Its Aslan! Over there!"

We turned to see Lucy, pointing excitedly across the gorge.

" Where?" Peter asked, his voice hopeful.

" Dont you see him?" She turned, still pointing. " He's right. . .there."

In the space where her finger pointed, there was nothing but trees. No one said anything, confused. Then Trumpkin's scathing voice cut into the silence.

" Do you see him now?"

Lucy's hair whipped around as she faced him, eyes blazing with annoyance. " Im not crazy. I saw him. He wanted us to follow him!"

Peter put a consoling hand on her shoulder. " Lucy, Im sure there are any number of lions in this wood."

She rounded on him as well, her face outraged, but her temper controlled as she said incredulously, " You think I wouldn't know Aslan when I saw him?"

Peter couldn't answer, so Edmund stepped in, defending Lucy. " Last time I didnt believe Lucy, I ended up looking pretty stupid."

" Why wouldn't I have seen him?" Peter inquired.

" Maybe you weren't looking." Lucy said quietly.

Her brother shrugged apologetically. " I'm sorry, Lu."

In other words, I thought. I'm sorry I can't believe you, but if I went about doing everything on a simple wish, I'd get nowhere.

I reached out a comforting hand to the small girl as one by one the others turned their backs on her, but she shrugged it away, her eyes angry and accusing.

Why didn't you tell them? They asked me. Why didn't you tell them you saw him too?

* * *

**A/N**:_ Reviews are highly appreciated! I'd love to know what you think. **Please remember that flames will be laughed at and tossed in the trash bin.** On a side note, I do not have a Beta yet(hint, hint!), so anyone who may wish to beta for me, either part-time, full-time, or until I can find another Beta is most welcome. You can message me or you may email my friend at shanle bret gmail . com and she will make sure that I am informed. Thank you._


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